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White House hopeful on Iraq troops deal

The White House on Sunday said it remained hopeful of striking a deal with the Iraqi government over the future status of US forces in the country but failed to deny reports it had abandoned efforts to negotiate a long-term agreement.

The Bush administration had been aiming to complete a formal status-of-forces agreement with Baghdad by the end of this month, securing Iraqi consent for a long-term US military presence. But the two sides have struggled to agree terms and recently scaled down their ambitions to a more limited short-term deal, according to the Washington Post.

President George W. Bush wanted to strike a long-term pact to cement US ties with Iraq after he left office in January but it appears increasingly likely that the issue will be left unresolved for the next administration.

US operations in Iraq are currently authorised by a United Nations mandate that expires at the end of this year. The Bush administration hoped to replace it with a bilateral agreement similar to those governing the decades-long US military presence in countries such as Japan and South Korea. But the Washington Post said the two sides had shifted focus to a “bridging agreement” that was likely to cover only 2009.

Negotiations for a longer- term deal have run into difficulty in part because Iraqi demands for a timetable for US withdrawal from the country – a proposal Mr Bush has long opposed.

The White House insisted the administration was pleased with progress to-wards an agreement but declined to comment on its likely timescale. “We continue to work with the Iraqis on establishing an agreement that strengthens our bilateral relations and provides authorities for our troops to operate in Iraq after the UN mandate expires,” it said.

Negotiations have been complicated by the contrasting positions of the main US presidential candidates, with John McCain, the Republican, committed to a long-term presence, while Barack Obama, the Democrat, wants to withdraw all combat troops within 16 months of taking office.

The Washington Post said the scaled-down agreement was likely to include “time horizons” for US troops to leave Baghdad and other Iraqi cities and palaces.

A report in the New York Times yesterday claimed the Bush administration was considering accelerating the drawdown of US forces in Iraq, reflecting the improving security situation and the need for more troops in Afghanistan, where violence is worsening. The White House said it would continue to evaluate conditions in Iraq before deciding whether to make further reductions beyond the 30,000 withdrawn since troop numbers peaked at 170,000 last year.